Axel Sallault and Quentin Thompson hold the top two in Class 4A, Jaxon Kiper won Don Bishop and comes in third, and Matthew Ishee and Andrew Sides move up after the Great American Race of Champions.
Florida Class 4A boys cross country through seven weeks: August 21-October 3, 2026
Jaxon Kiper of Strawberry Crest had not raced since August, and on Saturday he won the Don Bishop Invitational in Brandon in 15:24.2, 12 seconds ahead of Jonas Williams of Newsome. His season figure is the best in the class. We have him third, behind Axel Sallault and Quentin Thompson, which is the statewide order: one race since August is a strong race, not yet a season.
Matthew Ishee of Nease and Andrew Sides of Buchholz were 37th and 45th in the COROS Race of Champions at the Great American XC Festival in North Carolina, and both beat Sean Cunningham, who had beaten Douglas Seth and Bryant Olson at the Southern Showcase. They come in fourth and fifth, ahead of Seth and Olson. Rishi Chopra of Nease comes in tenth.
A runner is ranked on his whole season, with the most recent race counting most, and a race he won never counts against him. This is data plus judgment, and we will miss somebody along the way. How we sorted everybody out is at the bottom.
The statewide lists: week 7 boys top 10 and week 7 girls top 10. Last week's version of this list is here. The other class lists this week: 4A girls, 1A boys, 2A boys, 3A boys.
1. Axel Sallault, East Ridge, Sr.
Did not race. Won West Orange on September 26 in 15:23.9, his fourth win in five starts, and ran 15:05.9 at Hawks on the Hill on September 19, ahead of Thompson. Third statewide.
2. Quentin Thompson, Lake Minneola, Sr.
Did not race. Thirteenth of 334 at PR'ville in Huntsville on September 26 in 15:32.7, the first Floridian. Second to Sallault at Hawks on the Hill. Fourth statewide.
3. Jaxon Kiper, Strawberry Crest, Sr.
Won the Don Bishop Invitational on Saturday in 15:24.2 by 12 seconds over Williams. Won Jim Ryun in August in 15:54.3. Third by our call, the same call that has him sixth statewide; the next time he races Sallault or Thompson, the grass decides.
4. Matthew Ishee, Nease, Jr.
Thirty-seventh in the Great American Race of Champions in 15:35.4, the first Florida runner home outside Belen, ahead of Sides, Chopra and Cunningham. Fifteenth at Roy Griak on September 19 in 15:13.2. Seventh statewide.
5. Andrew Sides, Buchholz, Jr.
Forty-fifth in the Race of Champions in 15:39.8, a personal best by nine seconds, behind Ishee and ahead of Chopra and Cunningham. Won the Katie Caples Elite race on September 19 in 15:53.0. Eighth statewide.
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6. Douglas Seth, Flagler Palm Coast, So.
Did not race. Thirteenth at the Southern Showcase on September 19 in 15:20.7, ahead of Olson, behind Cunningham. Below Ishee and Sides because both beat Cunningham on Saturday.
7. Bryant Olson, Niceville, So.
Did not race. Sixteenth at the Showcase in 15:27.6, behind Seth and Cunningham. Won Pine Forest and Pace Patriot earlier in the season.
8. Jonas Williams, Newsome, Sr.
Second at Don Bishop on Saturday in 15:36.0, behind Kiper, the second-best time of his season. Won the Raider Open on September 19 in 15:27.0.
9. Luis Rivera, St. Cloud, Sr.
Second at the Harmony Longhorn Invitational on Saturday in 16:09.2, half a second behind Brody Johnson of Rockledge (3A). Won the North Port Invite elite race on September 19 in 15:20.2, the third win of his season.
10. Rishi Chopra, Nease, Sr.
Sixty-second in the Great American Race of Champions in 15:52.5, behind Ishee and Sides. Twenty-fourth at Roy Griak in 15:22.8. New to the ten.
Just missed
Casey Sangely (Spanish River, Sr.) won his own Race of Champions on September 18 in 15:46.4 and was 87th in Cary, behind Chopra. Martin Fernandez (Doral Academy, Sr.) and Nicholas Garcia (Columbus, Jr.) were second and fourth behind Sangely at Spanish River. David Lazo (South Plantation, Sr.) won BCAA Heritage Park on Wednesday. Antario Berek (Vero Beach, Jr.) was ninth in the flrunners.com Race of Champions.
Reader supported
Free to read, no paywall. Every Class 4A boys race this season went into this list, and every head-to-head was checked by hand. If it helps your team or your kid, you can buy us a coffee.
How we ranked them
- Courses do not all run the same speed, so we do not compare raw times. Cecil Field is the yardstick; for other meets we use runners who raced both that course and last year's state meet to work out what a time was worth.
- A runner is ranked on his whole season, weighted toward the most recent race: this week counts seven times, last week six, and so on back to opening weekend, which counts once. A race he won is never allowed to lower that figure.
- A head-to-head loss stands until the two runners meet again, whatever either has run elsewhere since. Where results form a loop, the most recent meeting decides. A runner who beat someone ranked above him moves up to that runner's spot.
- New this week: head-to-heads from September 12 and earlier no longer order runners. Those races are three weeks and more old, and kids have changed since. The times still count in the season figure.
- A missed week is never held against anyone.
- Grades and classes are 2026-27, resolved against the FHSAA classification documents.
- Kiper third is a call: his season figure is first in the class, but he has raced once since August.
- Ishee and Sides above Seth and Olson is the statewide order: they beat Cunningham on Saturday, and Cunningham beat Seth and Olson at the Showcase.
Every result behind this list is in the rankings section, and the full weekend is in the weekend recap.
Logo: East Ridge High School (Clermont). Card art: Run Florida Run.